Jordanian Arabic phrasebook

The Jordanian dialect of Arabic is similar to that spoken in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. As with all dialects of Arabic, the variations are in the spoken form of the language only; the written language always conforms to standard (or classical) Arabic.

The spoken Arabic language provides many difficulties for English speakers. Aside from the various dialects, one must also deal with the differences in addressing males, females, and groups; plurals and verb conjugations are highly irregular and difficult to determine from their root letters; and there are several letters in the Arab alphabet that are difficult for an English speaker to pronounce.

Pronunciation guide

There are some letters of the Arabic alphabet that transliterate into English; others are completely foreign to English speakers, making them difficult to pronounce. The pronunciation guide shown below is case sensitive; for example, 'th' is a different sound than 'Th' and 'TH'.

There are only two glides, or dipthongs, in Arabic. The first glides from 'a' to 'i' and gives an 'ay' sound as in the English word for bait; the second glides from 'a' to 'u' and gives the 'aw' sound as in the Arabic word mawt.

One syllable of every Arabic word has more stress than the other syllables of that word. Much meaning is communicated in Arabic by the location of the stress. This is much more true than in Western languages.

Vowels

Although some dialects have an 'e' and also an 'o', there are only three phonemic vowels common to Arabic:

a

like 'a' in "apple"

i

like 'ee' in "cheese"

o

like 'oo' in "too"

Consonants

Characters marked by an asterisk (*) are ones that may prove more difficult for English speakers.

a (ا)

like 'aa' in "back"

b (ب)

like 'b' in "bed"

t (ت)

like 't' in "top"

th (ث)

like 'th' in "think"

j (ج)

like 'j' in "jump"

H (ح) *

like 'h' in "hot" (this sound is created by tightly constricting the throat muscles as you force air through; commonly referred to as "heavy h")

kh (خ)

like like 'ch' in Scottish "loch" or German "nach" (this sound is similar to a gargled exasperation, as if someone were clearing his throat)

d (د)

like 'd' in "dog"

Th (ذ)

like 'th' in "that"

r (ر)

like 'r' in "row"

z (ز)

like 'z' in "haze"

s (س)

like 's' in "sing"

sh (ش)

like 'sh' in "sheep"

S (ص) *

like 's' in "sorry" or "saw" (this sound has more force than an English 's'; commonly referred to as "heavy s")

D (ض) *

like 'd' in "dot" (this sound has more force than an English 'd'; commonly referred to as "heavy d")

T (ط) *

like 't' in "taught" (this sound has more force than an English 't'; commonly referred to as "heavy t")

TH (ظ) *

like 'th' in "other"

9 (ع) *

like 'ei' in German "nein" (while there are different methods of transliterating this difficult character, this phrasebook sometimes uses the number 9, as the sound of the character mimics the sound of the stressed 'i' in "nine".)

g (غ) *

like French 'r' (this sound is a more gutteral—or gargled—version of the English 'g')

f (ف)

like 'f' in "fox"

q (ق)

like 'c' in "cough"

k (ك)

like 'k' in "kitten"

l (ل)

like 'l' in "lamb"

m (م)

like 'm' in "mother"

n (ن)

like 'n' in "noon"

h (ھ)

like 'h' in "help"

w (و)

like 'w' in "wow"

y (ي)

like 'y' in "yes"

' (ء)

a glottal stop

Phrase list

Alternate versions of each word—used when addressing men, women, or groups—have been listed where applicable. Other variations include word differences if spoken by a male or a female. The Arabic words have been included, although the spoken pronunciation may differ from the written script.

Basics

Common signs

OPEN

مفتح (maftuaH)

CLOSED

مغلق (mugalaq)

ENTRANCE

مدخل (madkhal)

EXIT

مخرج (makhraj)

PUSH

ادفع (idfa'a)

PULL

اسحب (isHab)

TOILET

حمام (hammaam)

MEN

رجال (rijaal)

WOMEN

بساء (nisa' )

FORBIDDEN

ممنوع (mamnuu'a)

Hello.

مرحبا (marHaba)

How are you?

كيف حالك

(keef Haa'lak) - When speaking to a male; can be abbreviated kee fak

(keef Haa'lik) - When speaking to a female; can be abbreviated kee fik

(keef Haalkom) - When speaking to a group of two or more; can be abbreviated keef kom

Fine, thank you

(mniH) - Literally means "good"

(kwayyis) - Literally means "very good"

(hamdillah) - A very common phrase which can mean "Fine, thank you", but literally means "Praise be to God"

What is your name?

ما اسمك؟

(shu ismak) - When speaking to a male

(shu ismik) - When speaking to a female

My name is ______ .

اسمي ______ . (ismi _____ .)

Nice to meet you.

أهلاً و سهلاً ( 'ahlan wa' salan) - This phrase literally means "welcome", but is used in place of "Nice to meet you."

Please.

من فضلك

(min faDlak) - When speaking to a male

(min faDlik) - When speaking to a female

Thank you.

شكرا (shukran)

You're welcome.

عفواً

( 'afwan) - Literally means "excuse me" but is also used in this case

( 'ahlan wa' sahlan) - Literally means "welcome" but is also used in this case

Yes.

نعم (na'am)

No.

لا (laa)

Excuse me. (getting attention or begging pardon)

عفوا ( 'afwan)

I'm sorry.

اسف

( 'assif) - If spoken by a man

( 'assfeh) - If spoken by a woman

Goodbye

مع السلام (ma'salama)

I can't speak Arabic [well].

لا أستطيع تكلم العربية جيداً (ma baHaki arabi [mniH])

Do you speak English?

هل تتكلم الانكليزية؟

(ptHaki ingleezi?) - When speaking to a man

(ptHakti ingleezi?) - When speaking to a woman

Is there someone here who speaks English?

أيوجد أحد يتكلم الانكليزية هنا؟ (fi naas bHaki ingleezi?)

Help!

ساعدني (ilHaquuni!) - Literally means "follow me"

Look out!

انتبة

(dir balak!) - When speaking to a man

(dir balik!) - When speaking to a woman

Good morning.

صباح الخير (SabaaH al-khair)

Good evening.

مساء الخير (masa' al-khair)

Good night.

تصبع على خير (tiSbaaH ala khair)

I don't understand.

لا أفهم

(ana mish faahim) - Literally "I don't understand"

(mish faahim alayk) - Literally "I don't understand you"

Where is the toilet?

أيب الحمام (wayn il-Hamaam?)

Problems

Leave me alone.

أتركني وشأني (siibni laHall)

Don't touch me!

لأ تلمسني (ma talmisni)

Police!

الشرطة (al-shurtah)

Stop! Thief!

قف أيها اللص (waqif ya Haarami)

I need your help.

أحناج امساعدتك

(baHtaj musaa'adtak) - When addressing a man

(baHtaj musaa'adtik) - When addressing a woman

I'm lost.

أنا ضائع (ana Daayi'a)

I lost my bag.

أضعت شنطتي (Daayaat shanTiti)

I lost my wallet.

أضعت محفظتي (Daayaat maHdaTHiti)

I'm sick.

أبا مريض (ana mariiD)

I need a doctor.

أحتاج الى طبيب (biddi doktor)

Can I use your phone?

هل يمكنني استعمال تلفونك (mumkin 'asta'amil talafonak?)

Numbers

The Arabic numeric characters are provided in place of the words due to their more common usage. Unlike Arabic script, Arabic numerals are printed from left to right. In the case where two pronunciations are provided, either can be used interchangably.

Months

The following months coordinate with the Islamic calendar and is used only for Muslim holidays. Generally, the Gregorian calendar is used. When defining a month, however, most people use the month numbers (ex., shahir waaHid which means "month one" or January).

January

كانون الثاني (kaanuun it-taani)

February

شباط (shbaaT)

March

اذار ( 'aaThaar)

April

نيسان (niisaan)

May

ايار ( 'ayyaar)

June

حزيران (Huzayraan)

July

تموز (tammuuz)

August

اّب ( 'aab)

September

ايلول ( 'ayluul)

October

تشرن الأو (tishriin il'awwal)

November

تشرن الثاني (tishriin it-taani)

December

كانون الأول (kaanuun il'awwal)

Colors

Each Arabic color has a masculine and feminine form. Only the masculine forms are displayed here.

black

اسود (aswad)

white

ابيض (abyaD)

gray

رمادي (ramaadi or sakini)

red

احمر (aHmar)

blue

ازرق (azraq)

yellow

اصفر (aSfar)

green

اخضر (akhDar)

orange

برتقالي (burtuqaali)

purple

ارجوان (naHadi)

brown

اسمر (buuni)

Transportation

Bus and train

How much is a ticket to _____?

How much is a ticket to _____? (...)

One ticket to _____, please.

One ticket to _____, please. (...)

Where does this train/bus go?

Where does this train/bus go? (...)

Where is the train/bus to _____?

Where is the train/bus to _____? (...)

Does this train/bus stop in _____?

Does this train/bus stop in _____? (...)

When does the train/bus for _____ leave?

When does the train/bus for _____ leave? (...)

When will this train/bus arrive in _____?

When will this bus arrive in _____? (...)

Directions

How do I get to _____ ?

_____ كيف أستطيع الوصول الى (kiid mumkin awSal _____?)

...the train station?

محطة القطار (maHaTah al-qaTaar)

...the bus station?

موقف الباص (mauqif al-baaS)

...the airport?

المطار (al-maTaar)

...downtown?

وسط البلد (wasaT il-balad)

...the _____ hotel?

فندق (il-funduq _____)

...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate?

السفاره (is-safaareh)

American: (is-safaareh amerikiyyi)

Canadian: (is-safaareh al-kanadiyah)

Australian: (is-safaareh aastraliyah)

British: (is-safaareh baritaniyah)

Where are there a lot of...

أين يوجد _____ كثير (wayn fi _____ ktiir?)

...hotels?

فنادق (fanaadiq)

...restaurants?

مطاعم (moTaa'aim)

...sites to see?

اماكن تاريخية (amaakin taariikhiyeh) - Literally "historical places"

Can you show me on the map?

أريني ذاك الخارطة (farjiini ala al-khaariTah)

street

شارع (shar'iah)

Turn left.

خذ يسار (lif shmaal)

Turn right.

خذ يمين (lif yaamiin)

left

يسار (shmaal or yasaar)

right

يمين (yaamiin)

straight ahead

مستقيم (dugri)

towards the _____

_____ تجاه (tijaah)

past the _____

_____ بعد (ba'ad _____)

before the _____

_____ قبل (qabil _____)

Watch for the _____.

انتبه (dir balak)

intersection

مفترق طرق (taqaaTa'a)

north

شمال (shmaal)

south

جنوب (junuub)

east

شرق (sharq)

west

غرب (garb)

uphill

أعلى الجبل (ala jabal) - Literally "on the hill"; one may also use fuuq, which means "up" or "above"